Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst
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Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst (1714 – 6 August 1794) was the eldest surviving son of the 1st Earl. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he was called to the bar, and became a K.C. in 1745. In April 1735 he had been elected member of parliament for Cirencester, and was rewarded for his opposition to the government by being made solicitor-general and then attorney-general to Frederick, Prince of Wales. Resigning his seat in parliament in April 1754 he was made a judge of the court of common pleas in the following month, and became Lord High Chancellor in January 1771, when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Apsley. Having become Earl Bathurst by, his fathers death in September 1775, he resigned his office somewhat unwillingly in July 1778 to enable Thurlow to join the cabinet of Lord North. In November 1779 he was appointed Lord President of the Council, and left office with North in March 1782. He died at Oakley Grove near Cirencester on 6 August 1794. Bathurst was twice married, and left two sons and four daughters. He was a weak Lord Chancellor, but appears to have been just and fair in his distribution of patronage.
His son, the diplomat Benjamin Bathurst, disappeared in 1809.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by In Commission |
Lord Chancellor 1771–1778 |
Succeeded by The Lord Thurlow |
| Preceded by The Earl Gower |
Lord President of the Council 1779–1782 |
Succeeded by The Lord Camden |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by Allen Bathurst |
Earl Bathurst 1775–1794 |
Succeeded by Henry Bathurst |
| Preceded by New Creation |
Baron Apsley 1771–1794 |
|
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
